Wednesday, August 12
We were up around 6am this morning – not on purpose, but Justin had a nightmare about some lion around 4:30am and I couldn’t go back to sleep knowing I had to get up early anyhow. Grrr….
Justin gave Abigail a father’s blessing just before we headed out the door – better late than never. And then he said good-bye which made him emotional which made the rest of us emotional. Sending our oldest off to school is a big deal and starts the long cycle of good-byes that we’ll be experiencing year after year in some form.
The drive went really well. Abigail drove for a few hours which helped since I wasn’t feeling particularly rested. We spent a little time at my Mom’s before heading out for food. We ended up getting Taco Bell which was actually quite delicious and then we picked up some cookies at Crumbl – yum!
Thursday, August 13
Today was a massive shopping day for all the necessities Abigail would need in college. I knew we had a lot that needed to be done, but I didn’t expect to spend THREE HOURS at Wal-Mart. We rewarded ourselves afterward with some delicious Waffle Luv.
We hit up IKEA next which is always a bit overwhelming. Due to COVID they limited the number of people in the store so we had to wait outside for a bit just to get in.
My Mom and Val took us out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse which was really tasty. We especially enjoyed their yummy rolls.
Friday, August 14
Lagoon today! Due to COVID their hours were limited to 11am-8pm. We got there right as they opened and met up with Abigail’s besties Kalli & Nicole as well as Kalli’s parents and two of Kalli’s cousins. Mara, Kalli’s Mom was the perfect amusement park buddy for me. Neither of us love the super intense rides although we pushed each other a bit and rode on most everything.
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| I took a hard pass on the “Mousetrap” – I didn’t like it as a teen so I knew I wouldn’t like it as an adult |
Kalli and her family left around 5:30pm but we stayed another two hours. Nicole came back to my Mom’s with us for the night. We stopped at Café Zupas on the way – so, so yum and then topped off the night picking up some Chip Cookies downtown.
Today was another shopping day, but more for the non-essentials. Our first stop was up in SLC at a warehouse to pick up some kamut flour. I really don’t know why kamut flour is so special, but I was told it’s lifechanging so I decided to give it a try. I picked up 50 pounds as well as a cookbook, dough hook and some special gray salt. I’m excited to do some baking!
We hit up City Creek to look for some clothes for the girls and then we decided to try Cubby’s before heading back south.
I dropped the girls off at the mall to shop and went to a army supply store to pick up some MRE’s and other emergency preparedness supplies. Unfortunately for the girls all the fitting rooms were closed so they didn’t have much interest in shopping. My Mom had a yummy dinner ready for us back at her house and then Nicole’s sister came and picked her up to head back to Provo with her. The girls and I hit swig afterward and another Wal-Mart run. We also picked up a movie to watch back at the house with my Mom and Val (“I Still Believe” – two thumbs up).
When we were finally heading to bed I realized we’d forgotten to pick up some rolls for tomorrow’s family dinner while we were out. Abigail was happy to do a near-midnight run to the store with me in our pjs. Only WinCo was open at 11:30pm so that’s where we went. Utah has SO much shopping – driving 10 minutes to WinCo would normally seem ridiculous but for us that is perfectly normal – actually better than normal.
Sunday, August 16
I went on a walk this morning and then enjoyed a relaxing day without any shopping. We had a mini sacrament meeting and took turns reading a chapter from Alma with Val sharing commentary from a Book of Mormon study book. We decided to watch “Knives Out” in the afternoon and nearly finished before the Hipwell family started to show up for family dinner. Most everyone came down and it was fun to catch up and visit with them. It doesn’t seem like a whole year has passed since the family reunion in Bear Lake.
Monday, August 17
We were out of the house by 10am all loaded up with Abigail’s stuff.
The girls wanted to stop at a couple clothing boutiques along the way. Carly ended up finding a cute dress at Piper and Scoot. Abigail was able to check-in to the dorms at noon and we arrived right around that time. Thankfully we found a huge cart and an elevator which made moving in in 100+ degree temperatures more manageable.
Again we dropped everything off in Abigail’s apartment but didn’t spend too much time setting up. She’s the first of her roommates to move into the apartment so some of the organizing will need to wait until all the girls have moved in and decide together where they would like everything to go.
We hadn’t eaten dinner yet and decided the BYU creamery was a must do. Their ice-cream was top notch. We also stopped by Swig and took a few pictures by the BYU signs. Not much of a dinner after all.
We went back to the dorms and visited a bit with Kalli and her family, checked out Kalli’s room and then said our good-byes. It wasn’t nearly as emotional as I imagined. I’d had myself a little cry last night when I was going to bed so that may have helped me keep my composure.
Tuesday, August 18
The drive home was uneventful. The goal was to make it to Nampa, Idaho without stopping. We knew there was a Costco right off the freeway in Nampa as well as a Crumbl Cookie where we planned on picking up a dozen cookies to take home to the family. However, we ended up having to get gas about 10 miles before Nampa because we didn’t want to risk running out.
We noticed that the cookie store was across the street from a Sonic. On our way home from Sunriver earlier this month Carly and I discovered that Sonic has delicious pretzels so that sounded like a fantastic idea.
Carly drove for a few hours and then we switched back before driving through the Blue Mountains. This was the first time she’d ever driven my car (Abigail’s first time driving my car was heading down to Utah just days before). Carly did great but it still wasn’t very relaxing for me. I’m just a nervous passenger in general. I listened to several podcasts and talks when Carly was watching videos on the iPad. I felt like it helped pass the time and kept my attention better than music would have.
I was exhausted when we got home. Everyone helped unload the car quickly, but I still had to get in some sort of exercise so I could close my move and exercise ring. Justin, Katie and Drew joined me on a walk around the neighborhood and then I showered and relaxed. Well deserved.
1 comment:
Good job, Holl. I'm crying just thinking about it though. Smart idea to bring Carly along so you had a driving buddy on the way back.
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